Great Schools but still Rural in North MS?! (Southaven, Olive Branch: homes, neighborhood)

[lordressler]

Ive lived in the Memphis area my whole life (Collierville, Hickory Hill, Eads, Fayette County) and my husband and I currently live in Oakland TN. We have lived in our "starter home" for 6+ years and dream of owning land to build on in the future. Although we love many things about fayette county, we are fed up with the school system and are focusing our search for our dream land more in the Mississippi area. We have family in Olive Branch but they havent been there long enough to know the area well.

We want to find affordable land (1-5k an acre would be ideal) in a rural area.. BUT we still want to be in a really good school district. Hoping to find 5-15 acres. NO LESS than 5. Non-neighborhood feel.
Any suggestions on where we should focus our search??

Here's what I know/have heard so far.
Olive Branch had great schools (Center hill?) but its not rural enough for our taste.
Southaven is not rural enough at all.
Red Banks, Byhalia.. Really nice but not good schools.
Ive heard good things about Hernando, so i plan on looking there.

Thanks for any help in advance!
Its amazing how little I know about towns that ive lived so close to my whole life.

[Listener2307]

I'm fairly familiar with all the areas you mentioned and most of North Mississippi.

I'm afraid rural Mississippi and great schools are usually mutually exclusive; you either get one or the other. But Hernando, I don't know about. They might actually be pretty good.

[brickpatio]

Schooldigger.com usually lists Lewisburg schools in the top 5 or 10 in Mississippi. These schools are shiny and brand-new on Craft Rd a few miles south of Olive Branch, so they cover the rural area of DeSoto County south of Olive Branch and Center Hill and east of Hernando. Hernando's schools are also well rated as are DeSoto Central. The countryside in southern DeSoto County is generally very nice and has lots of homes on large acreage, sometimes with horses.

[SippiStateBulldogs]

Hernando would be your best bet for what your looking for. Hernando still has a rural feel to it and is apart of Desoto schools which are really good. Also maybe Walls, MS

[FLW1938]

We have lived in Hernando for 40 years. Have seen it grow from about 2,000 to almost 15,000. I have had 3 daughters graduate & 2 grandchildren attend Hernando schools. I think overall the schools are pretty good. As usual in a large group there seems to be a few (teachers) that do not quite measure up.. I am told. I do hear complaints of parents with kids now in school that the principal at Hernando High is way too lax on discipline.
I have a grandson that is really sharp, straight "A"s last year with about a 95 % average. He had a couple of teachers that he says just read out of a book & doesn't seem to know as much about a subject as he does.

I am fairly familiar with all the cities in Desoto County & I do think Hernando would be a top pick for new folks coming in.
Cops are a bit lax on speed control but on the other hand they are not setting up speed traps, so that is a good trade off.